Anyone ever rebuild an old craftsman saw?

[Tenn_Blue]

Well, it finally happened.... My old craftsman gave up yesterday.....

Little 2.3 ci, 14 inch bar red number. I've had it for years- originally found it beside the road in the trash. Cleaned the carb and put new fuel lines in and it ran fine after that.

Was cutting some smaller branches when it locked up and died. Now the motor is frozen. I put some light oil in the cylinder and am letting it sit to see if it will free up, but not optimistic. Premix was good fuel, and it was running ok (before), so not sure exactly why it siezed(?). Will do a post-mordum in a couple days...

It doesn't owe me anything, and the easiest thing would be to go buy a new saw. I have a bigger stihl for heavy work, but the little saw is handy for small tasks. IIR, these older craftsmans were poulons? If I wanted, could I replace the piston and cylinder to get it going again (if everything else is ok) and ballpark what this would cost for parts? Or is the cylinder part of the block? Or am I gonna spend more than it would cost to go get another "cheap" new saw?

Wife says "go buy a new saw" (Gosh, I love her!!!!). Don't want to resurect the whole stihl/husky/(insert name here) battle, but what would anybody recommend? Thinking of getting a mid-power saw that would run a 14-18 inch bar and set it up with the short bar, since I already have a 20 inch saw. The advantage would be having the bigger bar if I needed it - somethingI don't have with my little craftsman. Would want something lighter weight as well. We have a wood stove and plenty of wood to cut to support it, so the saws will be used regularly...

I understand (more important, "THE BOSS" understands..) that a good saw will cost 2x what a cheapy will cost, and thats ok as long as I don't get too extreme...

So guys - gonna spend money anyway (fix or replace), so help me out!!!

 

[LD1]

You will probabally have more money in trying to rebuild it than it is worth. A cheap chinese cylinder and piston combo will still run you $100+ and that is if someone even makes one for that saw. I am betting not. And that is still no garentee the crank/bearings are ok. They are a disposable saw.

You can replace it with another cheap craftsman/poulan/homelite off c-list for under $100.

Or you could go look at some dealers in your area. Stihl/husky/dolmar all make good saws. If you are wanting something similar in size (35-40cc) you should be able to get a name brand one for ~$250. If you are looking for a little bigger, the dolmar 5105 is a good medium sized saw. But anything in the 50cc range is going to set you $400+

 

[Craig Clayton]

The aluminum in the cylinder wall stuck to the piston. ( RIP ).
Craig Clayton

 

[Tenn_Blue]

UPDATE!!!!

After spraying and soaking (and a little prying with a screwdriver), piston is free. Pulls through fine and walls look ok through the exhaust port and plug hole. Seems to have same compression (force required to pull it through) as before the mishap.

BUT

when I roll the chain on the bar by hand quickly, I hear a chattering sound from the area of the clutch. Chain still slides and clutch spins, but I can feel the chatter a little through the chain - bearing going bad? Perhaps that was the reason for the seize?

Does this change my outlook? IF just a bearing/bushing and I can replace it cheaply at the supply store, I may try to fix it for now. Do I have to split the case to evaluate/replace. May be more apparent when I take it apart, just trying to figure out what I am in for and if it's worth it.

OR just get the new saw and fix it when the Wifes not looking :laughing:

 

[jonyyuma]

You can replace the saw at NHyd. for less than $70.00 when they are on special, just how much is your time worth on the old saw? Jy.

 

[studor]

I did a lot of work on an old Craftsman that was my fathers and an old McCullough that was my FIL's. In hind sight I should have made them shop wall ornaments given the time effort and cost to end up with a saw without a chain brake and another that leaks bar oil no matter what you do
Stihl make a little saw that frequently goes on sale for less than two hundred bucks (MS 170 I think) As well a Poulin in that size range can regularly be had for $100 NIB.
Take the bar and chain off that Craftsman and give it to the local educational system for shop class -- JMHO

 

[Tenn_Blue]

Thanks guys for keeping me grounded in reality. :thumbsup:

I have this affliction that just won't let me chuck stuff! I've had any number of projects that were not economically practical, but that I would put aside for "when I had time to mess with it"

Some are worth it for the learning quotient, some for the relaxation, others to just say I could do it! But I don't think this is one of them.

The practical side of me had the saw halfway into the garbage can when it first seized, but the tinkerer in me pulled it back out!

I hadn't thought about the kickback break - from a safety point, it's worth a new saw alone. Now just gotta figure out what to get.....

 

[Nitro-Fish]

Is it a top handle saw? If so, is it the Craftsman top handle witht the "auto sharp" system on it? Many of the older craftsman saws were made by poulan, my guess is if you have one of the older top handles it will be the twin of either the micro XXV, or the S25DA. Unless you leaned it out, these little top handles are almost indestructable. If it is one of the top handles, did you recently replace the chain before it started acting up?

 

[ultrarunner]

I have one of the older Craftsman Top Handle Saws with Power Sharp... really loved that saw and the Barracuda Chain.

It actually belonged to my Mom... one year she said wanted a power saw... it was not cheap if I remember correctly...

I was going to go through it for her and ordered all the parts at Sears... all of the numbers were shown and several weeks later I get a package with a single item... everything else had been discontinued.

Went out and bought her the Echo CS-341 and she likes it just as much and it starts every-time and has the chain brake.

 

[Tenn_Blue]

Nitro - yes it is (was?!?) a top handle, but nothing about autosharp as far as I can see - I assume that means it has some way of keeping the blade chisels sharp as they turn?

Seems a lot of folks don't like the top handle feature (more unsafe than regular handle?) unless you are a professional hanging in a tree trimming (I don't ever plan to be!!!). It never never gave me a problem, but as I said, I didn't run it a lot.

I had not changed the chain - but it was sharpened by the shop not to long ago (in use hours).

Does cold affect operation? I would think that it would be harder to start and run rich? This had been a Florida (think warm and sea level) saw, and expired in cold and higher elevation (we are in the Cumberland plateau). Perhaps that would contribute to a lean condition? But it had seen harder use than this in Florida heat and no problems...

But I think the clutch bearing was loading the motor and caused it to overheat and seize.